Metascore
77 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 45 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 28 out of 45
  2. Negative: 0 out of 45
  1. It's got the familiar, turn-based attack game play that we've learned to love, and the dynamic job system and a complex plot would make it a perfect holiday gift.
  2. 100
    The DS needs more innovative and fun games like Final Fantasy III and Rocket Slime, and Square Enix is doing its part to make that happen.
  3. The fact that you can play the game using just the stylus and touch screen just adds to the new feeling, and after playing this way—it’s hard to think that eventually someday players would have to go back to pressing buttons when playing RPG’s.
  4. One of the finest RPG titles released in the past decade, and is a crucial game to grab for the Nintendo DS.
  5. Yes, the gameplay can get tedious. Yes, the traveling can be slow at times. Yes, it can be difficult and require plenty of trial and error. But if you're a RPG warrior, all these challenges comes with the territory.
  6. Final Fantasy III is a terrific-looking RPG that what it lacks in story, nearly makes up for in its addictiveness and charm. The game can be pretty tough and the job system isn’t as polished as those in Final Fantasy V or Tactics, but it’s easily one of the best RPGs for the DS.
  7. There's so much depth and richness to the experience. [June 2007, p.78]
  8. Once players start to acquire more and more interesting jobs, allowing a varied number of party customizations, the game begins to come into its own as yet another enjoyable, well-polished Final Fantasy title that any Nintendo DS RPG fan would be proud to own.
  9. An excellent remake that remains very much true to the original game. [JPN Import]
  10. Final Fantasy III benefits from a complete makeover in its first US appearance, transforming from the ugly duckling of the mainline Final Fantasy series into a must-have for DS owners!
User Score

Generally favorable reviews- based on 74 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 24 out of 30
  2. Negative: 2 out of 30
  1. Joeking
    10
    Pure brilliance. The job-leveling system is a bit odd at first, but I couldn't stop playing as I really wanted to get to the next job set. By far the best rpg I've played so far on the DS. Full Review »
  2. A remake of an incredible JRPG for the NES. However, a number of gameplay changes caused the game to lose its charm. Battles are way too slow compared to the NES version and the weak hardware of the DS results in frame rate problems. Full Review »
  3. A solid game that is a bit slow paced in the beginning. I highly recommend this to all FF and Donjon Crawling fans :D...the difficulty is also very high, which is something that people like me enjoy Full Review »